Bri­tish PM says courage needed on Mace­do­nian-Greek name spat

BRI­TAIN’S PRIME min­is­ter has urged Mace­do­nia and Greece to show courage in on­go­ing efforts to re­solve a dis­pute over Mace­do­nia’s name, which has frustrated the coun­try’s as­pi­ra­tions to join NATO and the European Union.

Bri­tish Prime Min­is­ter Theresa May says a so­lu­tion will re­quire a will­ing­ness to make dif­fi­cult de­ci­sions. She spoke af­ter talks yes­ter­day in Skopje with Mace­do­nian Prime Min­is­ter Zo­ran Zaev.

Mace­do­nia and Greece have been at odds over the small Balkan coun­try’s name for the past 27 years. Greece says it im­plies ter­ri­to­rial claims on its own north­ern prov­ince with the same name and on an­cient Greek his­tory. Mace­do­nia de­nies that.

The dis­pute has prompted Athens to hin­der Mace­do­nia’s NATO and EU mem­ber­ship bids.

May’s was the first visit to Mace­do­nia by a Bri­tish prime min­is­ter in two decades.